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American Jewish Committee: â€œThe Turkish primer ministerâ€™s behavior was shockingâ€ - EXCLUSIVE

American Jewish Committee: â€œThe Turkish primer ministerâ€™s behavior was shockingâ€ - <font color=red>EXCLUSIVE </font>

31 January 2009 08:34 (UTC +04:00)

It troubles me greatly, which troubles my organization, and creates natural questions about the trajectory of Turkish-Israeli relations, and also raises question about the degree to which the government of Turkey understands the potential impact within Turkish society as well as internationally in terms of perception of Turkey from the very heated denunciations, the one-sided rhetoric that was employed against Israelâ€, Jason Isaacson, Director of the American Jewish Committeeâ€™s Office of Government and International Affairs, told APA US bureau. â€œThe government is free to disagree with Israeli policy, and many do. Some Israelis donâ€™t agree with Israeli policy; thatâ€™s nothing new. Thatâ€™s not an issue. It is not possible to say, however, that Israel was not acting in self-defense. There are some who would say Israel overreacted; some may say that Israel reacted recklessly or Israel made mistakes. But Israel acted in self defense â€“ and to fail to mention that, even as one questions Israeli actions, really misses what has been happening there and completely disregards the provocation that Israelis have been suffering for years from terrorists who have been targeting Israli civilians, Israeli villages with rocket and mortar fire. Again, one can disagree with Israelâ€™s actions in Gaza and the Turkish government is free to do so â€“ but the level of rhetoric, the one-sidedness of the rhetoric, thatâ€™s been used to denounce a sister democracy is unacceptable, and thatâ€™s what was on display in Davosâ€, said Isaacson and added that the incident between Erdogan and Peres wouldnâ€™t have an impact on the cooperation between Jewish and Turkish Diasporas.
â€œI have no reason to believe that there will be fall-out on the domestic level within the United States. The Americans of Turkish descent and the Americans of Jewish descent, we are all Americans with common values, and we are living in pluralistic democracy; we have always had a warm relationship with Turks in the United States. The impact is not there. The impact is in the matter of perceptions of the Republic of Turkey in the USA, perceptions of Turkey around the world as an important country, as a traditional friend of the USA, as a NATO ally, a country that has a long-standing and mutually beneficial relationship with Israel â€“ but a country that is now behaving in a way that can only be seen as recklessâ€, said the AJC